They exist but not at plays like Cinderella. I don't usually go to shows that appeal to children but even during Matilda, no one spoke and there was no cell phones out. It was bliss.

The worst experience was when I saw Peter and The Star Catcher. This woman brings her twin girls who could not have been more than three years old. Of course my seat was next to theirs. It clearly states that this play isn't for children under ten. Did she think it was going to be the musical Peter Pan or something? These girls were both dressed in fairy princess outfits with wands. She put her wand in front of me, I shooed it away. Then, when it got scary, the little girl literally crawled on me because she was scared. Her Mother was too busy texting to notice. I told the usher and she set up in a Mezzanine front row center seat. Just don't be an a**shole parent, ya know?

I was hoping Rebecca Luker would quiet him "with the sound of her voice" by pulling a LuPone. Honestly, we HAVE lost our public manners. Maybe if Broadway audiences got a little sh*t from the people onstage, they'd be a little less prone to pull this nonsense off.

I must admit that the Shubert ushers are diligent. I don't get the fascination with people taking family pictures of each other in the auditorium, but I applaud the ushers at Shubert houses for putting a stop to them. Take your Christmas Card pictures outside.

Part of why I've been avoiding Broadway for Off-Broadway this season (non-for-profit Off-Broadway, that is). Broadway audiences really need a good kick in the ass. And I'm not nearly as experienced in my theatergoing as you, bk. People didn't dance in the aisles when YOU went to the Winter Garden, I imagine.

Awhile back I had a craving to see a show, any show and wasn't picky. I knew that I was able to get a ticket at the last minute to Rock of Ages and that's what I did. I had seen the show a couple of times at The Brooks Atkinson and found it to be fun and entertaining fluff, but was curious to see how it transferred to the smaller Helen Hayes. Now, I know that jukebox musicals attract a mostly large tourist or bridge and tunnel crowd. Ones who don't often go to the theatre, and I expect behavior that isn't the best in those situations. However, I noticed something during my visit to the show at The Hayes that never happened when I saw it at the Brooks Atkinson. The audience was audibly singing along to every song. It drove me up the wall. I expected a cell phone or two being tinkered with or even a chicken dinner but not a sing along show.

"If you try to shag my husband while I am still alive, I will shove the art of motorcycle maintenance up your rancid little Cu**. That's a good dear"
Tom Stoppard's Rock N Roll

I hate when people sing along, Winston. I was surrounded by people doing that once when I saw 42dn St and once when I saw Gypsy. Drove me nuts. I'm paying to hear the actors sing, not the audience.

As to this guy at Cinderella. My suspicion is that he's not so much rude as he is someone with a pretty advanced drinking problem. I feel bad for his daughter more than anything, since she has to go home with him.

The worst are young teens in school or camp groups. I saw the star of "Raisin" maybe 30 years ago break the 4th wall and politely explain to the kids why she couldn't perform while they were distracting her.

"Now, I know that jukebox musicals attract a mostly large tourist or bridge and tunnel crowd. Ones who don't often go to the theatre, and I expect behavior that isn't the best in those situations."

I completely agree. Trashy people exist everywhere but they are less likely to spend money on a Broadway show. The ones that do need to be kept in line by the staff. I saw Spiderman (regretfully) and this white trash person was sitting next to me. Less than TWO minutes after it started he whipped out his phone, cracked a beer and check his sports scores. Like he was on his couch at home. I informed the usher, he got defiant, and was kicked out. If you whip out your cell phone, you get a warning. The next time, you get kicked out. No refunds. That should be a policy in all theaters. If people don't understand how disrespectful that is to the cast, crew, and other patrons, they have no right to patronize the theater. They ruin other people's experiences. Repugnant.

I was in the audience for this performance and was absolutely enraged by this guy. So disrespectful to the performers giving 100% on stage. Props to them for staying so focused while he was yelling at everyone, especially during the most dramatic moment of the show. I felt bad for his daughter, too- she didn't look older than 3 or 4 and probably had no idea what was going on. Whether this particular guy has a more serious problem going on I don't know, but I do know that the group of small children in front of me were better behaved than most adults in the audience.

I agree...the house should be more diligent regarding noise, people arriving late and disrupting others. I was at a show where a guy sitting two rows behind me got a call and proceeded to take the call and have a conversation. After everyone around him stared him down, he finally got the message, and turned his phone off. It boggles my mind how inconsiderate people can be.

It's an epidemic. I've finally resorted to, when proximity allows, a good poke in the shoulder, back, or leg to get their attention, followed by a loudly whispered imperative punctuated with a little profanity. Works every time. These people are too stupid to interpret a glare, the beam of an usher's flashlight, or a polite request. Shock and humiliation is instantly effective.

At a recent performance of Kinky Boots, the couple next to me talked, read each other texts, giggled, and kanoodled from the minute the lights went down. When I had my fill, I gave the woman (who was next to me) a triple poke in the shoulder. Having her undivided attention, I told her what they needed to do and the expression on her face was priceless. She passed the message along to her boyfriend and seconds later, they gathered up their things, stormed out, and never returned. A perfectly well-behaved couple from the balcony gladly took their abandoned fourth row orchestra seats at intermission.

At Trip to Bountiful there was a guy sitting across the aisle from us in the second row who five minutes into the show proceeded to check scores on his phone. This lasted for a few minutes until an audience member asked him to turn it off. Then he took off his shoes off and put one foot on the back of the armrest in front of him. Later in the evening he took out a foil pack of gum and punched out a piece of gum chewed it for a few minutes and then ripped a strip off of his playbill cover, spit the gum out into the paper and then tossed it on the floor. He did all this about two more times. I have no idea how people can behave this way, especially when you are so close to the stage and able to distract the actors.

Since this seems to be turning into a “let your bad-audience-member-experience steam out” thread, indulge me while I add my most recent experiences…

While seeing “Pippin,” second row center, back in July, my girlfriend and I were seated next to a couple. The woman was clearly a huge “Pippin” fan and, from the start of the show, was mouthing the words (somewhat audibly) and dancing in her seat. I wasn’t so distracted by it, as we were not immediately next to her, so I didn’t say anything, but, a few songs in, the couple in front of her finally asked her to be quiet. In her defense, she said she was sorry (and truly looked it) and was quiet for the rest of the show (honestly, while this kind of behavior is obviously rude and distracting and this is no excuse, I genuinely think she was just so into the show she was not thinking of the distraction it might be).

However, it was her husband that proved the bother to me. A third of the way into the first act he had to get up from his seat. My girlfriend and I were seated on the aisle and he was right next to my girlfriend. There is essentially no room between seats other than the exact space for your legs, so when he had to exit the aisle, my girlfriend and I had to get out of our seats and continue crouching in the aisle (in hopes of not disturbing others). He wasn’t gone for long and then returned (in the middle of a song, by the way) and we had to do the leaving-our-seats-crouching-in-the-aisle again. While frustrating, I wasn’t so bothered by it once. But, then, as we are nearing the end of the first Act, he gets up to leave again. We do the same thing and, by now, I am sure that he will just stand at the back until intermission (especially because the theatre is set up in such a way that he would still be able to see the show). But, nope: about 10 minutes before intermission there he is again in the aisle, wanting to get back in his seat. At this point I was irate. Again, it was in the middle of a song when he returned and, this is now the fourth time we have had to get up from our seats, crouch in the aisle and let him in. I could not believe the ushers allowed him to return to his seat so late into the show, for a second time, and during a song. At intermission he apologized and said it wouldn’t happen again. Luckily, it didn’t.

While this isn’t the greatest offense, I would just hope that audience members would have the forethought to consider how disrupting it might be. Even if I didn’t know whether the intermission was coming soon, I never would have even considered going to back to my seat after getting out of it the second time.

On a smaller scale, one performance of “Matilda” that I saw, I was seated next to a father and daughter. The father, throughout the entire show, kept sighing extremely loudly throughout the show (one of those exaggerated sighs reminiscent of a four year old in a time out). Not only was it distracting, but it was also frustrating for me to see his daughter obviously enjoying and enthralled by the show and the father not being able to hide his dislike for it, even for his daughter’s sake.

At another performance of “Matilda” I attended, there was a family of four (Mom, Dad, and two kids) in one of the box seats. Not only were they letting the kids (one maybe around 6 or 7, the other a boy probably around 12) just walk around the box the entire time, but when the younger one would, at regular volume, say something, the parents just let the kid talk. Then, during “Revolting Children” the 12 year old began dancing, pretending he was at a rock concert in an obvious attempt to mock what was happening on stage (it looked, to me, like a case of “I’m too cool for this”). The mom was encouraging it, doing it as well and laughing. From my seat in the balcony, all of the movement/talking in the box was extremely distracting.

On an even smaller scale, I was recently at a performance at a storefront theatre here in Chicago for a show called “Death and Harry Houdini,” chronicling the life of Harry Houdini. There were two young boys (about 10-12) with what looked like their father and grandfather in the front row. Although the tricks performed in the show are truly amazing, you could tell that these boys were also at that point in childhood where they were “too cool” to admit any awe or enjoyment. During one of Houdini’s feats (walking barefooted across broken glass), the older of the kids blurted out, “He’s softening it out before he steps!” The father and grandfather just laughed. The actor playing Houdini said, dead pan, “Thanks, kid.” (The actor then went on to prove this kid wrong, by the way). The kid then kept making quiet comments throughout the rest of the show until he, at one point, blurted something else out (I honestly cannot remember what he said, but I remember it was rude and in an effort to debunk whatever was happening onstage). Bless the actors, they handled it extremely well. But, the father and grandfather just laughed again.

What frustrates me the most about the last two stories is the behavior of the parents more than the behavior of the kids. While some of those kids should have been old enough to know better, the fact that their parents didn’t stop the behavior (and, in fact, encouraged it, making the kid think that not only was it okay, but the commentary on the show is actually funny) is where I take issue. When I go to kid-friendly shows, I expect some amount of typical child behavior: some restlessness, maybe hearing some kids asking questions, etc. Where I usually find fault is in the parents’/guardians’ behavior when they do not correct this behavior. If your child is talking and he/she won’t stop, you don’t just continue to “shush” them, you take them out of the theatre.

I'm lucky enough that I haven't come across too many rude audience members in the past. The one that really REALLY gets me though is parents bringing kids to the theatre who are just far too young for the show. I saw the UK tour of Blood Brothers a few years ago and caught a matinee performance. I swear there were children in that audience still in diapers. The little girl next to me who came with her mother was probably only four or five years old and talked CONSTANTLY throughout the whole show, mostly asking her mother questions because she didn't have a clue what was going on. Why parents drag their children to these shows is a mystery to me. They don't enjoy it, and I'm sure a babysitter is going to be much cheaper than theatre tickets. People should by all means introduce their children to the theatre, but they should bring them to shows more suitable for their age.

I had a problem at the OPERA of all places (two in fact). One was similar to the story about "Bountiful"-a guy sitting behind me took his shoes off and put his stinky feet (and they were stinky-he must have been walking all day before he bought his ticket)on the arm of my chair (there was no seat next to me-I was on the right aisle in my row). I was horrified and turned around and gave him a look and asked him to take his feet off. He rudely kicked my arm off the arm of the chair, then when I kept looking up at him and threatened to get an usher between songs, finally took his feet off (he didn't put his shoes back on, but put his feet on the floor).

The second was when a man and his girlfriend were clearly drunk and sitting in front of me. They were giggly and well, drunk. Someone's cell phone went off-loudly-and kept ringing. It was awful as it came during a quiet aria and it was very distracting. (The woman next to me kept poking the lady's shoulder and telling her to turn it off and the lady insisted it was not her phone. I like to think otherwise since her purse was vibrating.) The phone stopped ringing-until right before intermission...and they were asked not to come back. (The woman next to me and I found an usher-and they were escorted out. The people sitting around them all confirmed that both were drunk and that the phone kept going off.)

I've had terrible experiences in the audiences of the New York Philharmonic, where husbands who were obviously dragged to the concert, consumed something from crunchy water bottles that ultimately rolled down the aisle; and at a recent performance of ANNIE, where a Slavic family had to explain to the children what was going on onstage. When this family wasn't "explaining" they were checking their phones for messages--very distracting because the phone lights kept flashing on.

gosh - -- and no one has mentioned yet about the audience members who apparently did not have time to eat before the show.... not to worry... if you forgot your own bag of M&M's - the theatre will sell you some, and in many cases make the sale right at your seat. But, be sure not to open them until the start of Act II.. crinkle - crunch - enjoy!

I went to a performance of "Freud's Last Session" and this girl sitting in the front row clearly was on her phone the whole time. The actors pointed called her out on it at the talk back after the show and everyone applauded them.

At a recent performance of Annie, I sat behind a family with two children. The girl, maybe 8 or 9, was clearly into it the show despite having her eyes glued to her phone the moment she got in her seat. Their mother at least had the decency to take her phone away. Her brother on the other hand, who looked around 10 or 12 years old, was so bored out of his mind. Half way through the first act, he switched seats with his sister so he could lie down across his mother and grandmother. They left at intermission and it wasn't really that bothersome, but it was very funny to see him flop around to get comfortable.

Additionally, no one told me that the Let It Be performance I attended allowed video taping, annoying sing alongs and flash photography. I was blinded by this lady's iphone flash on one side and by another lady's iphone screen on the other. I was so glad I received comp tickets for this show.

Oh, and apparently, some mother brought her small daughter to Triassic Parq and the little girl asked lots of questions....

It seems that shows who sell tickets at 20 for 20 and TDF are the ones that attract the rudest audience members.

How would you know? Do you take a survey of how much rude audience members pay for their tickets?

A situation like the one detailed here should have been resolved immediately by the party being escorted out the first time the disturbance was reported. No second chances. It's ridiculous the levels some people/organizations will go to accommodate people behaving badly, while totally shafting those who try to be courteous. (Part of this seems to be that some people appear reticent to complain--something people need to get over.)

"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body

"" audience members who apparently did not have time to eat before the show.... not to worry... if you forgot your own bag of M&M's - the theatre will sell you some, and in many cases make the sale right at your seat. But, be sure not to open them until the start of Act II.. crinkle - crunch - enjoy""

OMG, nail on the head! the actors should tell the theater to NOT sell anything that can be crinkled. I dont understand why people must graze like cows during a show. seriously? you cant control yourself? or if you must have crinkly bags, they should do like they do at ballgame with beer, empty it into a cup or cardboard box

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